Bleach Chronicles: Legend vs Legend
by Skeletorian
Summary: Hiatus...
1. Chapter 1: A New Beggining

**Hello again everyone. Skeletorian is back with a brand new remake. Please enjoy, this new plot twisting adventure. And just so everyone is aware, I do plan on bring some old concepts back into the story. So please enjoy.**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in any way, shape, or form.)**

_Central 46._

"_The judgment will now be decreed! Ex-5__th__ Division Captain Aizen Souske is sentenced to the lowest underground prison level, the 8__th__ prison, Avici. For no less than 18,800 years."_

"_I see. Beings of your caliber decreeing judgment on me is it?" Aizen spoke. "I find that some-what ironic."_

"_Traitor! Don't get cocky just because you're immortal!"_

"_Bind his eyes and mouth at once!"_

"_Raise his sentence up to 20,000 years!"_

It has been three years since my battle with Aizen. Everything went back to normal…or almost normal. My life had returned to normal. I barely finished high-school and now I'm attending a college. My 20th birthday is approaching soon, but I'm not too worried about it. Not being able to see spirits anymore has been difficult, but even so, I wouldn't be able to not remember anything that has happen. In just over a year, I had awoken my own shinigami powers, became a vizard, reached a level that far surpassed the strongest of soul reapers, and lost all my powers at the same time.

I would like to say I have grown more mature since then. But old habits are still around. I usually end up beating up some gangster for hurting one of my friends.

Karin is now responsible for taking care of things spiritually related. Since my powers are gone, I can't do anything. I know she can see spirits, even if she refuses to tell me about it. I have also learned that she visits Kisuke often. Apparently, she has been learning kido from him, just in case a hollow would come attack the family. I wonder what that old candy store owner is up to now.

And not once have I seen Rukia or Renji. I would like to believe my days as a hero are over, but I just have this weird feeling that something terribly wrong is going to happen soon, and that I'm going to be needed again. I just hope not…

"Mr. Kurosaki!" Ichigo woke from his day dream and looked up to find his English Professor looking down on him. _'Oh crap'_

"Class is dismissed Mr. Kurosaki." Ichigo looked around and found that the rest of the students in the room were gone. He shrugs and starts placing his books away.

"What has been wrong with you lately?" The teacher asked as he walked back to his desk. "You are relatively a good student. You have some bad test scores here and there, but with the records that I have on you…" The teacher flips open a folder with Ichigo's name on it. "…you have been passing all of your classes with flying colors."

Ichigo sighed as he finished placing his books in his bag. "I've been fine, just thinking about some old memories. But it is nothing important."

"If you say so. Just remember there is a test next week. Good day, Mr. Kurosaki." Ichigo nodded and left the class. "And I was hoping to lounge around this week."

Ichigo walked to his car as he fumbled with his keys he had in his pocket. After a minute he finally opened his car and started it. "This is going to be a long week."

"It sure is, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo's eyes widen at the sound of a very familiar voice. _'It can't be.' _He could only respond by adjusting his mirror to find Hat-and-clogs sitting in the back seat of his car. "Urahara?"

"Long time no see, huh Ichigo?" He said waving his fan around happily. Ichigo could only stare at his old friend, but still couldn't say anything. But the one thing that Ichigo couldn't get out of his mind is that something was wrong. Urahara wouldn't come to meet him in person unless something is really wrong.

Suddenly, Ichigo's passenger seat door opened and Yoruichi Shihouin appeared. She sat down and then closed the door. "Don't think that I wouldn't want to come see my favorite student." She replied smirking as Ichigo's eyebrow twitched. Ok now, something must be really wrong for both of them to show up, or Yoruichi just wants to tease him again. Ichigo shrugs and regained his composure.

"If you wanted to come see me, you could have just called." Ichigo said as he eyed Yoruichi. "And why did you have to come?"

"Oh relax. Am I not allowed to visit you? Soi Fon is so boring to tease. She takes things to seriously. By seeing you again, things would become much more interesting." She replied with her signature cat like grin.

"Oh ok." Ichigo replied as he began moving the car out of the parking spot. "So what's so important that you both needed to come see me?"

Urahara and Yoruichi smiled more. "Let's just say, that Kisuke figured out a way to return your powers back to normal. Many people would like to see you again. Would you be interested to…"

"No thanks." Ichigo replied as he cut Yoruichi off. "Legends are legends. As much as I would like to see Zangetsu and hell even that annoying hollow of mine. I rather just stay the way I am."

Yoruichi and Urahara were astonished to say the least. "But Ichigo, are you sure? This is once in a life time opportunity." Urahara replied. Ichigo nodded and smiled a bit. "I really appreciated the thought. But I enjoy my life. Ok, I'll admit I miss some things, but I really was never cut out to be a full fledge soul reaper anyway."

"I've grown up. That's all it is, and I would like to continue it that way. However, I wouldn't mind seeing everybody again. You can make temporary bodies can't you?"

His two friends were surprised. Never had they seen such a grown up Ichigo before, and to be frankly Yoruichi was now even more interested now than ever before.

"I guess I can make a couple bodies here and there. But, the offer still stands Ichigo." They both got out of the car as Ichigo rolled down the window.

"It was really nice seeing you guys again." Ichigo said out of the window to the two of them. "I hope we can keep in touch in. And oh yeah Kisuke come here for a sec."

"Yes Kurosaki-…" Ichigo elbowed his face. "My sister wanted to pay you back ever since your firs training program with her. So she asked me to do so the next time I saw you." Ichigo smiled and waved by to them. He then soon drove off back to the Kurosaki household.

"Our Ichigo sure grew up, Kisuke." Yoruichi replied happily. "Let's go home for now. Who know maybe he will change his answer." And with that she flashed step away. "Yeah who knows." And Kisuke followed her.

8th Prison Avici.

At the stroke of midnight, multiple sirens were heard around the prison.

"Status report!" The head soul reaper guard said running through the halls with a group of soldiers. "Sir, Souske Aizen, ex-5th division captain had just now escaped his restraints and blasted a hole in his jail cell. His current location is unknown." Said one of the guards.

"Listen up!" The head soul reapers yelled. "This man is highly dangerous. Do not and I repeat, do not let your guard down."

And at that moment, all of the lights inside the prison turned off. And the only thing that could be heard is the crude laughter of a man. "Be prepared for my revenge. Kurosaki Ichigo."

**Since this is the re-make, this will have the original ending of the old story. So the suspense will continue. Enjoy reading.**


	2. Chapter 2: A Nightmare from the past

**And here is number two.**

It sure was surprising to see them again, but the thought of them coming to me means there might be a problem. What might not they be telling me? Or maybe they really want to give my powers back? How in the hell Urahara figured out a way to do so is incredible. But it doesn't matter; my life is fine just the way it is… well at least I hope it is…

It was now about five minutes since Ichigo left his college campus. His only class for today was English and it was just turning 1:25 p.m. But he hadn't had food since the following night and he was starving. Anything was good to him right now. And it just so happens he was passing a McDonalds when his stomach rumbled.

"Why now?" He asked as he looked at his stomach.

Ichigo quickly made a right turn on to the nearest street and tried his best to figure his way back to the fast food restaurant. It took him about ten minutes to get back because he hadn't had the slightest clue of where he was going.

He could of sworn he was driving around in circles but quickly dismissed the thought as he approached the restaurant.

"God Damn-it!" He yelled at himself as he noticed the drive-thru was at least 5 cars long. "I'll just go inside then." He shrugs and lazily parks in two of the parking spots and quickly gets out of the car. He closes the door and proceeds to walk in the building. He didn't care about locking the car because he knew nothing in it was too important anyway.

He enters and waits in line for a minute for the person in front of him and gets to the counter.

"Can I have your order…handsome?" The female cashier says blushing slightly and looks at him up and down. Ever since Ichigo entered college, he had been getting girls numbers left and right. It was only a matter of time that one of them were going to ask him his hand in marriage.

Ichigo could only sigh. Curse him and his good looks he thought, but he quickly dismissed it as he silently thanked his dad for the cell phone he received when he first entered college.

"Um ok." He said as his stomach rumbled more. "Give me a Big Mac and supersize it, please." He began as he pulled out his wallet. "No need for that." The cashier smirked placing her own money into the register and quickly writing down her number. She leans over the counter and waving the piece of paper in front of him.

"I'll give you the free meal if you call me tonight." Ichigo shrugged as he accepted the piece of paper. He grabs money out of his wallet and gives it to her. "I'll give you a call, but just in case I can't, here is the money for the food." He smirks deciding to play around a little. "And who knows I might just give you a kiss the next time I'm here." He says as he gets in her face. She blushes madly and stumbles back into the kitchen. She comes back seconds later with his food, embarrassed and she couldn't speak to him. "U-m…..ha-ve ….a …..nice day."

Ichigo smiles and thanks her and begins to walk out. When suddenly somebody raises there voice to speak with him.

"Excuse me sir. I think you dropped this." A man said from behind Ichigo. Ichgio turns and goes into shock. The very person that wanted to destroy everything in Karakura Town, the very man who was supposed to be locked away for thousands of years, was now standing in front of Ichigo. Aizen Souske.

"But how?" Ichigo blurted out still not believing what he was seeing. Aizen smirked as he extended his hand holding a couple of coins.

"What do you mean sir? I don't know you. I was just trying to be a gentleman and give you back the changed you had just dropped."

Ichigo hesitantly snatched the coins quickly and then ran out of the store to his car. Aizen smirked more and went to the counter. "May I have some more tea please?"

"Coming right up." The female cashier said and made Aizen more tea.

Ichigo's mind was racing; he didn't think it was possible. Aizen has returned for his head. What was he supposed to do? Not even his father could defeat him. He was panicking quickly and ran a stop light. Luckily enough no cars were there and he made it through safely.

"Damn-it Ichgio, relax. Everything will be ok. Whoever that guy was, he was not Aizen. I know it." Ichigo soon calmed down and made it home quickly, parking his car in an open slot. He reaches the front door and shrugs.

"I'll be ok. That was just some odd look alike. I'll be fine." He enters his home and takes off his shoes.

But the moment he took his first step into the hallway, something dawned on Ichigo. Where was his father? Ichigo knew that his father hadn't changed his ways. He would always attack him when he got home, but the house was dead silent.

Ichigo was now even getting more scared now. He was defenseless without his powers. Sure he could hit anybody normally with his fist, but against a spiritual being, I think not.

He slowly treaded caution as he entered his house as he reached the main room. A single light was turned on in the living room, with a man sitting in a chair next to it.

"Welcome home, Kurosaki Ichigo."

And there it was. Ichigo's worse fear had come back to haunt him, literally. There sitting in the chair was none other Aizen Souske.

Ichigo could not say a word as his mind had gone blank. He could only stand in the presence of the very man he defeated in battle when no one else could.

"Three years is not a long time for a spiritual being. But let me get down to why I'm here." Aizen stood.

"Wh-at…the h-ell did…you do to my family?" Ichigo asked in an outburst, clenching his fist. Aizen slowly shook his head. "What answer do you wish to hear first?" He said cunningly to get Ichigo more riled up.

"You bastard, tell me where they are now!" Ichigo demanded, actually taking a step forward.

"Now, now, don't be hasty. In fact I didn't do anything to you or your family." Aizen paused and looked up the stairs to his right. "Or I should say not yet at least."

Ichigo wanted to run up and punch him so badly right now but refrained as he continued to stand in place.

"Now back to the subject at hand. You have something of mine, and I want it back." Aizen spoke.

Ichigo could only stare at him like he was the biggest idiot on the earth. "I don't have anything of …"

"I wasn't finished speaking. Ever wonder why you can see me? Have you not lost all of your spiritual powers?" Aizen said finally. And then it dawned on Ichigo. He could see Aizen. But why was the question.

"At first I didn't think it was possible…" Aizen said turning to Ichigo's whole family walking down the stairs. Isshin was the first to notice Aizen and quickly got in front of Karin and Yuzu. "Ichigo, how?" Isshin asked. Ichigo could only shake his head negatively for he had no answer.

"…but the reason why you can see me, Ichigo. Is for the fact you have taken the very object that made me a god. It must have been imbedded into your soul three years ago. And because of that very reason, that object has given you a spiritual range in which everything in a one mile radius from your soul you can see, along with amplifying the spiritual energies in the people around you." Aizen smirked, as he let Ichigo to try to understand the information.

"Ichi-nii, who is that?" Karin asked, breaking the silence. Ichigo only turned to her with the dead look of fear in his eyes. "Karin stay back please. And whatever you do, do not attack him with kido." Karin could only widen her eyes. "But how did you…"

"Karin. Just be quiet and stay behind dad. I'll take care of this." Ichigo said almost yelling at her.

"Aww, how cute. But it does not matter. You will all die soon enough." Aizen said smirking more. "Now, Ichigo. Give me back the very source of power that resides in your soul now." Aizen demanded as he stepped forward.

"I still don't understand what you're saying." Ichigo yelled at the man. Aizen shrugs.

"Then let me put it into simplest terms. Three years ago, you defeated me and we both lost our god-like powers. However, because of the fact I remained a soul reaper, I still had my regular powers. And you lost yours completely." Aizen paused.

"And now for the reason you can see me and your family can see me. You Ichigo hold the very source of power that can make anyone a god…"

"You Ichigo…you hold the Hougyoku inside of your soul."


	3. Chapter 3: An UnOffical Return

**And number 3**

Ichigo didn't move as the information processed through his head. How did Ichigo obtained such an object? Until Ichigo finally had a clue as it ran through his mind. Urahara Kisuke.

"Why do you look so surprised?" Aizen asked stepping forward. "The reiatsu you're emitting could only be that of the Hougyoku." Aizen now stood in front of Ichigo. Ichigo could not move and Isshin was slowly panicking. Yuzu was practically crying and Karin was getting ready to fire off her strongest kido.

"This will end quickly." Aizen finally stated at last as he used his hand to push Ichigo's soul out of his body. His body fell to the floor and a dazed spiritual Ichigo stood there. And surely enough, the hougyoku was there, imbedded in Ichigo's chest. It glowed in power and had grew in size by a centi-meter.

"See. You do have the sphere. Give it to me now." Aizen demanded. Ichigo could only shake his head, as he looked down towards the object in his chest.

"You ignorant fool. The hougyoku only belongs to one master. And that master is me. Urahara Kisuke had only shot a kido to remove the hougyoku from me. But that won't happen again." Aizen said and quickly pulled the sphere out of Ichigo's chest. Ichigo winced in pain as he clutched his chest, breathing hard.

"Do you see now the difference in our powers? The one who possess the hougyoku can rule everything." Aizen laughed.

Ichigo slowly stood, stumbling over some objects in the room. His family quickly ran to him, and because the fact the hougyoku was still in the room, Yuzu could see her brother, even in spiritual form.

"Ichi-nii, are you going to be alright." Yuzu cried. She couldn't bear to see her brother in pain. Isshin was comforting Yuzu and Karin stood angrily looking at Aizen.

"You monster! How dare you come here and attack us. Ichi-nii did nothing wrong." She yelled at him in rage. Ichigo tried his best to stop her, but had no strength to even move.

"Karin…no." He whispered. Karin heard him but completely ignored him. Isshin grabbed her back quickly. "No dad, get off of me." She yelled as she fought with him.

Aizen only shook his head. "What a pitiful family. I'll end all of your live now." And with that he reached for his sword, but it wasn't there. Ichigo noticed this quickly. "Karin. Use your highest spell now." He whispered, Karin nodded quickly. "Ichigo what the hell are you doing. She isn't strong enough." Isshin argued back still whispering.

"Trust me dad. It will be ok." Aizen noticed they were talking, but also noticed that one of them was missing.

"_Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens." _

Aizen quickly looked down to find Karin on the floor lying down with two blue beams of spiritual energy in her hands. "Impossible." Aizen said unable to move to a safe area quickly enough.

"Hado No. 73 Soren Sokatsui." She yelled and fired off the powerful kido at Aizen through the roof. After which, she quickly ran back to her family. They picked up Ichigo's body and they all ran out the door to Isshin's car.

Inside, Aizen was now missing an arm and half his face. But he wasn't worried as he quickly regenerated both missing parts. "Regeneration, one of the most formidable abilities to have." Aizen smirked as he gazed upon the hougyoku. Ichigo and his family were now in the car driving away quickly.

"What should we do?" Karin asked breathing hard. "I can't fire another one of those until tomorrow." Isshin was now slowly calming down, and Yuzu stopped crying.

"I don't know, Karin. I don't know." Isshin stated. Ichigo was passed out in spiritual form and the whole in his chest from hougyoku remained.

Slowly after driving a short distance, they reached the shoten. The family got out of the car and quickly rushed in. Once inside they went to the back of the store and noticed that they had interrupted dinner. "Isshin?" Urahara asked, not knowing what's going on. But of course Yoruichi had to ask the more important question.

"Why are you guys here and what is wrong with Ichigo?" She stated noticing that he was passed out on Isshin's back. Isshin could only shake his head as they came in and sat down.

"We have a major problem he stated." But he couldn't finish as the reiatsu of a powerful being approached. Aizen was here. Urahara stood quickly with Isshin and Yoruichi.

"Tessai-san. Take the kids down stairs now." Urahara demanded and then ran to his front door.

"Three years isn't a long time. Wouldn't you say Urahara Kisuke?" Aizen stated standing before the group. Urahara drew his sword, Isshin quickly jumped out into spiritual form, and Yoruichi got into a fighting stance.

"I already have obtained the hougyoku. You won't defeat me." And with that, Aizen placed the sphere into his chest.

**Down in the basement**

"But why not. I can fight." Karin screamed at Tessai. Yuzu sat next to Ichigo worried about what was going to happen. "Ichi-nee. Please be safe."

_Ichigo awoke in his inner world to find many differences. All of the large buildings were gone and he was no surrounded in a large sanctuary. "Where am I?" He asked as his voice echoed in the halls of the sanctuary. _

"_**Come and find me."**__ A voice replied from every direction. "Who are you?" Ichigo quickly asked back, but no response came. Ichigo began his journey running into many dead ends. But the weirdest part, Ichigo would be chased by these soldiers with swords, every so often._

"_What's going on? This is supposed to be my inner world. Why are there other people here? Why does this place exist at all?"And once more, he started being chased again by the very same soldiers. _

"_What should I do?" He asked feeling useless as he ran. "I used to be so strong. What happen to me?"Ichigo stopped in place as the soldiers surrounded him. Ichigo refrained to move. _

"_You have sealed your fate." A soldier said as all of them charged at Ichgio._

"_I'm not afraid." Ichigo stated and closed his eyes as the swords impaled him. But surprisingly enough, none of the swords had hurt. In fact Ichigo didn't feel anything at all. He opened up his eyes and all of the soldiers had disappeared and he was now in a different room. __**"You have found me." **__The voice returned and Ichigo quickly turned around to find a pedestal with thirteen swords in it._

_Ichigo went up to the pedestal and looked at it. He noticed that it was in a language that he has never seen before. However only one word, he was able to read. It was the title of the sword that was place there. And it was is in the center of the pedestal_

"_Zangetsu." _

_Ichigo pulled at the blade and it was released. And after that, Ichigo awoke back in the living world._

**Back outside.**

"Is that all you have?" Aizen asked the three fallen warriors. "You come at me with your best techniques and you don't even land a scratch against me. And not only that, my zanpakuto is gone." Aizen sighed and found that they stood once more.

"We will defeat you." Yoruichi screamed as she breathed heavily, with wounds in many places.

"If you want to die that much then. Goodbye." And with that Aizen disappeared ready to attack the three, but was stopped short and pushed to the ground.

"What just happen?" Urahara asked as he saw Aizen come up from the crater that was left.

"I must say that was a good attack to come from one of you three." Aizen stated looking at them.

"It wasn't them Aizen." A voice sounded from the shoten. They all turn to find Ichgio with his zanpakuto at hand. "It was me."


	4. Chapter 4: The Legend Begins

Aizen stood from the crater observing Ichigo with a keen eye. "Your powers have returned I see. How pleasant, but it is far too late. I have once again subjugated with the Hougyoku. You won't win."

Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Isshin retreated back to Ichigo. "Very impressive entrance Kurosaki-san." Kisuke said, trying to resist a small smile. "But I must say, that your power returning is quite amazing. How might have you pulled that off, I wonder."

Ichigo shrugged. Isshin was relieved and quickly went back inside to get Karin and Yuzu. Yoruichi said nothing and analyzed Aizen the best she could.

"As for the formalities of my powers returning, I won't get into. As for you, Aizen, I would start running." Ichigo said calmly, taking small steps forward.

Aizen smirked. "Surely you can't be that ignorant, Ichigo. I will say this once more. I have once again subjugated with the Hougyoku." Aizen pointed to his chest. "With that said, I can easily now evolve to a level that can obliterate you. Why would I need to start running?"

At that moment, Ichigo swung his blade lightly towards Aizen's direction. Aizen was flung backwards into the street and landed hard onto the ground.

"Your level is nowhere near mine at your current state. If I remember correctly, you evolved four times, and you still did not defeat me." Ichigo replied calmly and continued walking foreword.

"And another thing, you have thrown away your own zanpakuto believing the Hougyoku was all you ever needed. You will need to evolve about five to six times within thirty seconds before I kill you right now." Ichigo said with his sword held high above his head, ready to come down at full force at Aizen.

Aizen than flashed step quickly away up towards the sky, trying to distance himself to evolve as much as he could before Ichigo would come after him.

"Kisuke, Yoruichi, stay here please. I'll be right back." Ichigo said and disappeared from sight.

Kisuke laughed slightly and turned to go inside. "Hard to believe that was our student. Huh Yoruichi?" He said and went inside his little candy store. Yoruichi soon followed.

**To Ichigo and Aizen**

Ichigo found Aizen quickly enough in the sky. "Are you ready to finish this?" Ichigo asked facing Aizen. Aizen turned to see the one person he so feared right now.

"We will finish, but some other time." Aizen replied taking steps back. Ichigo shook his head. "No. We finish this now." He demanded charging at Aizen at full-throttle. Aizen had no time to dodge as he was thrashed by barrages of attacks from the young boy. His body was quickly cut up left and right, with very little time to defend. Aizen knew that Ichigo was not holding back this time, and he had to do something fast.

Aizen once again retreated and hid somewhere else. "You can't hide forever Aizen!" Ichigo yelled and chased after him. Ichigo had chased Aizen around Karakura town for at least a half an hour. And now it was time.

Aizen had transformed, but this first transformation was a little different. Yes, Aizen had become that white chrysalis form; however his spiritual energy had now matched Ichigo's. They had both become dead even.

"Now this is a fair fight, Ichigo." Aizen replied and used his hand like a sword to attack and block. Ichigo's sword collided with Aizens hand, causing a giant mass of spiritual energy blasting everywhere.

"What happen to you?" Ichigo asked looking at Aizen. "Your power now matches mine. How did the Hougyoku adjust to you so quickly?"

Aizen laughed. "I was once the owner of the Hougyoku. It would only be natural for it to already know and understand my power." Aizen attacked Ichigo again, and each attack ended in a stale mate.

"You won't win this time. You're finished." Aizen came forth with his attack and Ichigo with his. Both energies collided, but this time something different occurred. The spiritual energies combined and became a mass of swirling energy in the shape of a sphere. And neither Ichigo nor Aizen could move their bodies.

**Back at the Shoten**

"What the hell is Ichigo doing?" Isshin asked pacing back and forth. Kisuke was sitting down drinking tea, while Yoruichi read a magazine. "Relax, Ichigo will be alright." Yoruichi replied to Isshin. "Your son is strong. Stronger than any of us, have faith in him." But in truth, all three of them were a little worried. Ichigo should have been able to defeat Aizen by now.

Karin began shaking, as sweat rolled down her face. "Dad, what is that energy?" she asked, looking up to Isshin. Everybody turned to her. "What are you talking about Karin-chan?" Yuzu asked from her seat, but as immediately as she asked, Isshin ran out the door with Kisuke and Yoruichi heading for the sky.

When they got there, they saw the swirling sphere of un-readable spiritual pressure.

"What is going on?" Isshin asked as he saw both his son and Aizen inside the sphere. Kisuke could only shake his head in a negative response. "I don't know."

After minutes of waiting, the sphere dispersed. Ichigo and Aizen soon quickly back off. Ichigo slowly began to glow with energy, while Aizen started crystallizing from his feet.

"What the hell is this?" Aizen yelled, as he tried to force the crystal off of him. Ichigo couldn't move as all of his powers soon absorbed into the flowing energy around him.

Isshin, Kisuke, and Yoruichi were immobilized in place. They were trapped by an unknown force, and could only watch in horror to the event that appeared before them.

And then, the mysterious voice from the sanctuary had sounded around the area.

"**You both have much to learn."**

And as soon as the voice ended, Aizen had fully become a giant crystal and was immediately teleported to an unknown location. Ichigo however, charged with so much energy, released it all into the sky and it then separated and flew in many directions around the night sky. When it finished, Ichigo's spirit chain that had been lost reformed and came out of his chest. The spiritual energy that was released had disappeared from the sky.

He soon then began to fell, only to be caught by his father. Isshin along with Kisuke and Yoruichi quickly went back to the shoten and placed Ichigo's spirit back inside his body.

Not one of them could speak and they were all completely exhausted and decided that it would be best to talk about it tomorrow morning.

**The next day**

"What should we do?" Yoruichi was the first to speak up at the table. Isshin shook his head and Kisuke could only look off into space.

"Hey dad, could you come here for a second?" Yuzu yelled from another room. Isshin yawned as he didn't get much sleep last night. "Not now Yuzu. I'm busy."

There was not an instant reply at first. "But, dad…"

"I'm sorry Yuzu, but no."

"…but the news is talking about that weird light show last night. And it says it happen around the world…"

Isshin's eyes widened along with Kisuke's and Yoruichi's, and they quickly got out of their chairs and went to the other room with the only t.v. in the house.

"This just in. Reports of flying UFO sightings had appeared around the world." The news reported said as is showed the flying beams of energy passing by the White House in the US, the Coliseum in Rome, Big Ben in England, the Eifel Tower in France, the Pyramids in Egypt and many more historical and famous places around earth.

"It is unknown what theses sightings were, some think they were multiple meteor showers. This rare event shall be researched daily, and now for the weather…"

The group could only stare at the t.v.

Ichigo's powers were separated and sent across the world!


	5. Chapter 5: Journey for Greatness

Ichigo had been lying in the room just next door. He had awoken from his unconscious state to hear the broadcast on the television. And in his current state, he was not sure what he wanted to do.

'_Aizen will still come after me.'_ He thought as he stared up at the ceiling. He was still disoriented after the event that had unfolded the previous night. _'Losing my powers is one thing…but to gain them again and then separate from my soul…'_

He turns his head to find his dad entering the room. "Ah, good morning my son." He says and sits down next to him. "So I'm guessing you heard what happen?" Isshin asks.

"Yeah…I did. What should I do about it?" Ichigo asks back, as he turns his head back towards the ceiling. Isshin shrugs and turns his head away towards a window to watch a bird fly by.

"I'm not sure. When Aizen returns…we are going to need all the help we can get." As Isshin finished, everyone in the shoten, excluding Ichigo, felt a large presence in front of the shop. And on cue, Urahara, Yoruichi, and Isshin all rushed outside.

Outside stood not only members of the Gotei, but also the very leader of it, Captain Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. In fact, every single Captain and Lieutenant was outside the candy owner's door step.

"Tessai, please make all of the tea we have. We have guests." Urahara yelled into his house. "And what do I owe the pleasure of greeting the whole Court-Guard Squads?" He says with a smirk waving his fan.

Ichigo had no idea what has been going on. With the lost of his powers, he had no access to even feel the slightest of entities. It was as if he had no soul, because to his knowledge, every soul had some type of energy.

Urahara had led the group inside his house. He cleared everything in the room and brought out as many chairs he had. Everyone soon sat down with few who decided to stand.

"Urahara Kisuke. It has come to our attention that you along with your associates that you have witnessed the battle between Souske Aizen and Kurosaki Ichigo. Is that correct?" The Head-Captain spoke as the conversation started. Ichigo heard the voice of Urahara and quickly sprang up from the bed. He then quickly crawled to the door, ignoring the aches and pains, and began listening.

"That's a load of bull-shit." Kenpachi said loudly. "Ichigo not only lost again, but had his powers taken away. He is just a loser anyway. Always getting himself beat up."

"Quiet Zaraki. Not any of us would be alive for it Ichigo had not done what he did." Ukitake spoke up.

"Whatever." Kenpachi responded. Urahara just started formulating a plan. "So what do you propose?" The Commander spoke once more as the rest of the Captains remained silent.

"I do have several ideas. However the decision should not be up to me. It would be more logical if you ask Ichigo what he wants to do. We need him more than you need me." Urahara responded looking over to the door and he smiled. "Right Kurosaki-san?" Yoruichi opened the door and he fell out of the room.

Ichigo yelped in pain. The pain he felt was not that of physical pain, but more mentally. He clutched his head as he sat up. "So what do you wish to do about this Kurosaki Ichigo? These are your powers after all?" The Commander spoke. Ichigo didn't respond as he looked around the room.

"Well? Do you have an answer?" The Commander spoke once more, becoming irritated.

"Do you plan on answering the Head-Captain, Ichigo?" Yoruichi finally spoke as she faced him. Ichigo shrugged and stood up to face her. "I wish I could." Ichigo said turning to look at the many chairs in the room. "When I lost all of my powers the first three years ago… I could not see any spirits. But now, it's different."

"Quite intresting." Mayuri Kurotsuchi spoke up as the rest of the Captains continued to listen.

"What do you mean by different?" Yoruichi asked back.

"Last time three years ago… I could feel very small traces of my spiritual energy inside me. But this time, I don't feel anything. All of my energy is gone. If I'm correct in saying, that all spirits have some type of energy, but I feel as if I have no spirit at all. That I'm just a walking body. Can any of you that are in this room feel anything?"

And the truth was that Ichigo was right. He was completely invisible to everyone. He could go walk outside in a crowd of people and could not be spotted through spiritual means.

No one could say anything. Not even Ichigo's own father. Everyone was at a loss of what to do.

"I'm going to take a walk." Ichigo said heading for the door. "I need to clear my mind."

"Wait my son." Isshin said as Ichigo turned to face him. "Please be careful." Ichigo nodded and then left. Now that he thought about it, that was the first time he had seen his dad actually act like that. Although it was weird seeing his dad being so worried over him, Ichigo felt happy.

"He has grown very maturely." Ukitake spoke again. "But this surely is a problem. If he can't help us than how will we survive when Aizen returns?"

"Not even I have an answer right now." The Head-Captain spoke again. Urahara sighed lightly. "Ichigo has pulled through for us, time and again. It's who he is. He'll find a way around this."

Ichigo sighed as he walked. He hadn't the faintest clue where he wanted to go. He wanted everything back to normal. He wanted to live his life, grow up, have a few kids and then start a new life as a soul. But with the ways things were going, he was never getting away from the spirit world.

But as he continued, he saw something, a person I fact. This person stood in the middle of the road underneath a street light. Ichigo stopped wondering if he should continue or turn around, but from some reason, Ichigo couldn't move.

The figure moved back a step and motioned Ichigo to follow. Unconsciously Ichigo took a step towards the unknown person as if drawn in a trance. So in the next twenty minutes, Ichigo had followed this person slowly.

It wasn't until Ichigo saw the figure stop in front of a river to realize where he was. Ichigo was now staring at the spot of his mother's death. The person did not move and stood right next to the water's edge. Ichigo approached cautiously.

"Who are you?"

The figure turned to reveal his form. Ichigo couldn't believe who it was. Zangetsu.

"Ichigo. I don't have much time. Your journey starts here. I am still alive trapped in that pedestal you pulled me from before. I need you to come find me once more." Zangetsu paused and coughed loudily. His body slowly faded.

"Zangetsu!" Ichigo yelled.

"Ichigo. I have so many secrets to share with you. I can only appear once, per meeting spot…" His body began to fully disperse. Ichigo was panicking and ran towards him. By the time Ichigo made it to the spot, Zangetsu was gone.

"…My time is up, Ichigo. The next time we will meet, I shall begin to tell you the story…"

Ichigo looked around and saw nothing. Only hearing the words of his Zanpakuto. "What story? What's going on Zangetsu? Please tell me."

"…the story of origin."

"Who's origin?" Ichigo yelled turning trying to find the direction of Zangetsu's voice.

"…the origin of the Zanpakuto." And with that, Zangetsu's voice disappeared. Ichigo could only fall to his knees frustrated. "Damn-it!" He yelled, but suddenly the water began to glow in front of him. Ichigo looked up as he saw the river spiraling out of control. After minutes of watching, an orb of blue energy emerged from the water's surface. It floated there and slowly began to move towards Ichigo.

Ichigo said nothing as it finally came into reach. He grabbed it and he was send into a mental day dream. Ichigo saw a map of the earth with sparks at certain locations, revealing the orbs of his spiritual energy. When the dream was over he awoke back at the river with orb still in his hands.

Soon after, the orb dispersed into his body. Ichigo felt a small portion of his spiritual energy return to him. And now he knew what he had to do. A journey that far surpasses any others he had before.

A journey around the world to find the truth of Zangetsu'S words and to find his own powers once more. To become a far better legend that he ever was.

And his journey begins now.


	6. Chapter 6: Ichigo's in China

**I'm sorry for such a late update. I've been extremely busy. But I hope to get another chapter by this coming weekend. So please bear with me.**

It has been now a couple of hours since Ichigo went out to take a walk. The clock on the wall of the shop had just struck midnight, and the Captains had long since left.

Isshin and Urahara were sitting while Yoruichi was leaning against a wall. The three of them were waiting for Ichigo, but as time drew on he never came back. Ichigo had literally disappeared from existence. Isshin had no way in contacting him and as much as it would seem that Isshin didn't care, Isshin was now in a more scared state than ever. He doesn't show it often but he truly cares for Ichigo like any other father would for their son.

It was now noon of the next day, and Isshin was still waiting on the couch and got no sleep. Urahara and Yoruichi had been passed out on the floor. Then suddenly Ichigo's cell phone on the kitchen table had begun to ring. It wasn't until than that Isshin realize what had happen, Ichigo had to be bandaged from his fight with Aizen and his cell phone was left behind.

Isshin quickly sprinted for the phone and answered it. "Hello?" And at this point Urahara had woken up.

"Hey dad." Isshin's eyes shot open at the sound of his son's voice on the phone. "God damn-it Ichigo. Where the hell are you? Why didn't you come home? Why didn't….." But he was quickly interrupted.

"Dad, I'm am fine and safe. I'm in a hotel right now. Everything will be fine." Isshin could tell something was wrong. Ichigo wasn't the type of person who would rent a hotel in the middle of the night. "Where are you? I'll come get you and drive you home and…"

"You can't come get me right now." Ichigo interrupted once more. "I'm on a mission dad. I know now what I must do. Zangetsu had told me to come find him once more. And I plan to do so."

Urahara watched Isshin at the kitchen table. He knew that whatever Isshin was hearing, wasn't good news. In fact, he could almost tell what was happening.

"Ichigo my son…" Isshin said becoming greatly upset. "Please tell me where you are?"

"I'm in China." Ichigo responded after awhile. "Zangetsu told me that he wanted to tell me an important story. And I need to know why he wants to tell me this story. Last night when I received Zangetsu's message, I got an image of a world map that showed sparks of energy in the exact locations of where my spiritual powers are." Ichigo paused as he let the information sink into his father's head.

"The first power I happen to receive is my ability to fly along with strength and stamina. I flew over to China as quickly as I could and rented a hotel by three in the morning. I'm going on a journey to find these energy orbs. And by the time I receive them all. I'll be back."

"I promise." Ichigo finally said and hung up the phone. Isshin could say nothing as small tears formed in his eyes.

"Where is he?" Yoruichi finally spoke. She had woken up when Isshin was screaming into the phone. She was just as worried as Isshin was. Isshin could only let his tears fall down his face. Loosing his wife was upsetting and painful, but losing his own child is traumatizing. He soon than rested his head on the table and said slowly what Ichigo was planning.

Yoruichi and Urahara was at a loss for words. They couldn't help their friend in any way. But the only thing they did know was that Ichigo promised he would return. And Ichigo always made his promises, that much was certain.

All they could now is watch and wait as Ichigo becomes the legend he was destined to be.


	7. Chapter 7: Ichigo's in China part 2

It has now been a week since that phone call. And I have not eaten for several hours now. I only had enough money to stay for one night at the hotel and now I'm on my own. The only spiritual powers I have for the time being is flight. Besides my personal experiences from every fight I had up till now, I should be able to survive long enough to gain my next energy orb. Whatever Zangetsu is planning, I could only hope that it will be enough to stop Aizen at the end of the journey.

"Oh what an adventure this will turn out to be." Ichigo said silently as he walked through the streets of Beijing. Everything seemed peaceful, but even now Ichigo knew that the world was in a crisis for something he did. Many believed that Aliens visited the planet. Ichigo laughed at the thought. But the one thing he did know is that other spiritual beings would take notice this. And if he had to fight through every single one, he would.

Ichigo after several hours of walking and nothing to eat, he had to rest at a bench. He sighs and watched the many people walking past him as his stomach gurgled. 'I really need some food.' He mentally complained when he notices a small corner store. From the distance he was at, he couldn't tell if it was open or not. But it was worth a try.

When he reached the store, he notices the people inside were staring at the T.V. hanging on the wall. He enters and looks up at it. It was a news bulletin that showed a video on the light show that happened last week. Ichigo shrugs. 'It looks like the world is stilled baffled at my powers.'

He turns around and begins looking through the aisles. He finds bags of chips and other small treats. And it made him only hungrier. So he goes to a different aisle to find some magazines relating to tourist attractions.

And being the dimwit by forgetting he can't speak Chinese, Ichigo picks up one and opens it. He mentally shrugs as he tries to read the first word of an article. And as hard as he could he tried his best to decipher this language.

But what he didn't notice was that a woman of twenty years old had approached him. "(Excuse me?)" She asks. Ichigo didn't notice her and continued his reading. She asks once more. "(Excuse me?)" This time Ichigo did notice her and looked at her. She was shorter than about a foot. About Rukia's height. She was wearing a nice spring dress with many flowers on it and she held a purse in her hand. Her eyes are light blue and her hair black tied in a pony tail.

Ichigo scratches the back of his head and bows to her slightly as he tried to apologize. Unfortunately, the woman did not understand what he was doing. "(Are you okay?)" She asks and Ichigo could not understand a single word from her lips. So as quickly as he could, Ichigo started scanning the magazine shelf for him to help understand what she was saying.

After a minute, he finds a how to speak Chinese book and gives it to her. She looks down at the book and back to him. She giggles softly and nods. "Can you speak English?" She asks to him once more and he smiled back. "Yes I can." He replies softly.

"You're not from around here than. Let me be the first to say welcome to China." She smiles and places the book back on the shelf. "Thank you." Ichigo replies. "I didn't think I would be able to find anyone here I could understand." He laughs slightly.

"That sure does happen when you're new to a different country. My name is…" But just than Ichigo's stomach gurgled again and he blushes. She laughs more. "How about some lunch first then." Ichigo nods in agreement and follows her across the street to a restaurant. They get a small booth and ordered there food.

"So let's try again. Welcome to China. My name is Selina Wang. Nice to meet you." Ichigo in turn states his own name and tells her that he is from Japan.

They talked like this for several hours enjoying themselves. But it was now getting late and she had to go home. "Well it is about time we wrap this up. I'll pay the bill. It's obvious you don't have any money and I had really fun." She writes down her phone number. "Here call me sometime and we could hang out again." Ichigo gladly takes it.

They leave the restaurant. "Would you like me to walk you home?" Ichigo asks politely and she declines slowly. "No thanks. My home is not far from here I'll be fine." And with that they parted their separate ways.

And now Ichigo was alone by himself again. He explored a great distance in Beijing and met a very nice woman. But now he had to find shelter for the night. And as he walked down dark alleys, he knew it wouldn't be safe for the moment.

Throughout the whole day, Ichigo had felt the presence of hollow. He could not identify its location or strength. But what he did know. It was now close by.

Ichigo turns into the next street and stands face to face with not just any type of hollow. This hollow was an Arrancar and stood about twenty feet away. It was of his height, black hair, and wore white clothing similar to the uniforms that the Arrancars in Japan wore. Its mask fragment was a multi-pronged horn that was attached to the upper right side of its face.

"You." The Arrancar spoke pointing to Ichigo. "What exactly are you?" Ichigo didn't respond at first, but treaded cautiously when he spoke.

"I'm a human with unnatural spiritual powers." Ichigo stated slowly. "So what are you? I've never seen a spiritual being like you before." Ichigo said playing dumb.

The hollow says nothing at first and begins to approach Ichigo. "Don't play dumb. You are definitely not human. You are most certainly are a soul reaper. However…" The Arrancar stops five feet in front of him. "…your spiritual energy is not like I've seen. It has both soul reaper energy and that of a hollows spiritual energy." It draws it sword and aims it for Ichigo's neck.

"So let me ask again. Who and what are you?"

Ichigo turns his head towards the sky. "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki. I am from Japan. And I am considered a very powerful spiritual being." The arrancar becomes angry. In a quick motion it pulls back its sword and gives a light cut on Ichigo's left hand. Ichigo winces in pain.

"I won't ask again. What the hell are you?"

Ichigo holds up his left hand where the cut was and it had already sealed. The Arrancar's eyes widen.

"I am…or … I was the perfect combination of soul reaper and hollow. I am the boundary in between. I can utilize any type of attack. Whether it's hollow or soul reaper…" Ichigo pauses and puts his left hand back to the side. "However, my powers are…" Suddenly a soul reaper swoops down from the sky and attacks both Ichigo and the Arrancar. Ichigo was able to dodge while the Arrancar was hit.

"Damn you soul reaper." The hollow yells and retreats back a couple feet. Ichigo meanwhile was too the side of the street and observed who this person was.

"I'm not just any soul reaper. I am Selina Wang, 5th Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads."

"A captain?" The arrancar speaks. "I would never think a Captain would be stationed here in Beijing. It looks like we're both after the same thing. That energy orb that fell into Beijing a week ago, it could decide the war between us Hollows and Soul Reapers. And I'm going to get it first."

"Oh sure. And your friend that is hiding over there is going to help you." She pointed to Ichigo. "You both will never defeat me."

"Don't be mistaken. He is not my friend either." The hollow says and fires a cero at Ichigo. A loud explosion occurs and the two begin to fight.

Ichigo however use a force field of his spirit energy to block the cero. 'I didn't need to dodge that cero. That cero was weak and slow. Is it that Japan has the strongest of spiritual energy in the whole world?' Ichigo thought and stood.

Both Selina and the Arrancar stopped fighting to see Ichigo standing in place in a dust cloud. "That's not possible." The hollow roared. "My cero was dead accurate."

"But like I told you before…" Ichigo stated walking out of the cloud of dust. "…I'm considered as the boundary between hollows and soul reapers." And this is when Selina noticed it was Ichigo.

"Too bad Selina. If I had known you were a soul reaper, maybe I would have told you." And with that, using the remaining small amount of spiritual energy he had, he performed a flash step to get in between the two, grabbed both of their blades and shattered them. Ichigo then jumped straight up into the air and flew away.

Selina took her broken zanpakuto and followed after him. "To bad I couldn't kill you." She said right before she chased Ichigo. The arrancar quickly grabbed his broken sword as well and fled quickly into Hueco Mundo. After five minutes, she found him laying on a park bench breathing heavily.

She approached him quietly. "Who exactly are you, Ichigo?"


	8. Chapter 8: Ichigo's in China part 3

It had now been hours since Ichigo had the small fight in the street. He was now wide awake, his face covered by a bag, and he was strapped to a chair. And the last thing he remembers is Selina asking him who he was. The rest is a blur.

What he did know however, was that he was in a fairly large room with multiple people inside. They were arguing and he could not understand what they were saying. If he were to guess, they were speaking Chinese.

'Oh what have I gotten myself into?' He thought as he closes his eyes. And at that moment, the bag around his head was taken off. He was in a meeting hall. Two rows of people surrounded him and a man faced him. They were all sitting down and each wore white robes with black haori's.

"Greetings Mr. Kurosaki." The man in front of him spoke. The man was older than the rest in the room, but far too young to match Captain Commander Yamamoto. If Captain Commander Yamamoto is over 2000, Ichigo guessed he was in his 1500's.

"I am Captain Commander Yaozu of the Thirteen Court Guard Squad. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." He spoke up once more. And the look on Ichigo's face was just the same as Commander Yaozu's: surprised and curious.

And as surprised as Ichigo was, he had not forgotten his manners. "Good evening Captain Commander Yaozu."

"As you might be aware, you have been captured and subdued by Selina Wang; Captain of the 5th squad. She tells me that she had met you in the streets of Beijing during one of her patrol duties. Is that correct?" Ichigo nods quickly and glances over to her. She looks slightly upset as it seems she did not want to cause trouble.

"And so let's get down to business Mr. Kurosaki. Who and what are you? And why have you come to Beijing in seek of the energy orb?" Ichigo returns his gaze to the man.

"Not just Beijing sir. I'm in seek of all locations of the energy orbs." Ichigo pauses to look at his restraints. It was Bakudo no. 63: Sajo Sabaku (Winding Binding Chain.)

"As for what I am…is hard to explain." Ichigo looks around at the Captains. How could he explain that he was a human with both the powers of Soul Reapers and Hollows.

"Well whatever the case, your still an enemy." A Captain yelled out at Ichigo. He turns his gaze and looks upon the exact replica of Kenpachi, but of course Chinese. The man was just shy of Kenpahci's height, wore a stone belt, and of course was missing his left arm. Obviously a war wound from his love of battle, because Ichigo saw many scars across the man's freely open chest.

"Quiet Captain Jian." The Commander yells at the 11th Squad Captain. And he quickly turns silent. "I do apologize for his rudeness, however, he is right. You are an enemy. And to defeat our 5th Squad Captain with ease, must mean you're an asset to your Court Guard Squad. Am I right?"

And with that, everyone's eyes shot wide open. "But sir, are you meaning to tell us that not only there is another Court Guard Squad, but you are aware of its existence." Another Captain shouted in surprise.

"Yes, in fact, it is one of the many secrets a Commander gets when he/she is appointed. What I'm about to tell you next, is exclusively top secret information that no one may repeat. There are multiple Court Guard Squads around the living world. Both the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo stretch across the entire world and each part of the living world needs a division or a Court Guard Squad, to protect that section. I cannot remember how many there are, but every 100 years each Commander from each Court Guard Squad all assemble into the other dimension where the Spirit King resides. And from there I cannot tell you the rest."

Ichigo, along with the rest of the room became speechless. No one knew of this and it was certainly not something that should be revealed.

"So what does that mean for him?" Selina spoke pointing at Ichigo. Ichigo gulped when his eyes made into contact with the Commander. "It is under Royal law that any spiritual being that crosses into another territory of soul reapers must not interfere with them, otherwise death is to be dealt to said person. Mr. Kurosaki is no different."

Shivers went up and down Selina's spine. She had just made friends with him and yet she had to watch him die. She wanted to draw her sword and protect Ichigo but restrained herself.

Then the door to the room opened and four men walked in with a child following behind. The child went to the 2nd Squad Captain while the four men went to gather Ichigo for the Execution.

Ichigo was forced to his feet and had one last look at the room, and the people in it. He couldn't believe his journey was ending so soon and he had to escape. But then his eyes came into contact with the small boy standing by the 2nd Squad Captain. Ichigo's eyes were fixated on the boy in like a trance and he stopped moving.

And when the Captain saw Ichigo's sudden change he became slightly interested as he notices who Ichigo was staring at. "Captain, I see you have a new trainee for you Terracotta division." He says to the female Captain next to the boy.

"Yes I do. He is remarkably strong in fighting and I took him as my protégé immediately My Terracotta Warriors are made up of the strongest of fighters. And I do believe this boy can certainly be the future head that will replace me." She then notices that her division was struggling to restrain Ichigo. "Men what are you doing? Take him away now!" She demanded, but the more they tried, the more Ichigo stayed in place looking at the boy. And that's when the boy had finally fixated his eyes onto Ichigo. The connection had finally completed. After moments of staring at each other, the trance had broken on Ichigo and he regained his conscience.

The boy however didn't move. Ichigo was now forcefully broken away the four Terracotta Warriors away from his body and they fell to the floor. He then proceeded and broke the chains that held him. He had finally had been released.

"Ha, he is strong!" Jian, the 11th Squad Captain yelled and immediately drew his sword to attack Ichigo, but was then in a flash sent flying into the wall. And the attacker was the small boy.

Everyone stood up in the room and drew their swords quickly. Ichigo got into a fighting stance, and the boy made the similar stance Ichgio made facing him. Jian then suddenly came back from the wall and sliced the boy in two in one quick motion. "That's what you get for messing with me." He yelled at what he thought the dead boy. But he ended up being thrown through the ceiling by the same small child. But this time, the child's mask had fallen off and revealed his true face.

The Commander's eyes widen. "Mr. Kurosaki… is that you?" He asked observing the child. The child had orange spiky hair and brown eyes. In fact, the child was Ichigo, but Ichigo as a four year old.

"Yeah." Ichigo replied. "When I stared into the kids eyes, I fell into a mental day dream. It went back to my childhood showing me the days when I was learning martial arts."

Ichigo could only think of one solution. "Then why is he… or you here?" Selina asked with her sword still drawn.

"Well you see, the energy orb that I was looking for happens to be one of the many that fell across the world. In Japan, I'm known as a legendary spiritual being with extraordinary spiritual powers. For unknown reasons, all of my powers were sent across the globe. This must be one of my powers manifested in the form of my four year old self. If I were to guess, it would be my strength/fighting orb."

"But how do we know you're just some evil spirit looking for power?" The 2nd Squad Captain asked, ready to attack Ichigo.

"If I was lying about my legendary powers, then that kid should not be able to beat your 11th Squad Captain so easily." And with that, said Captain had fallen back down from the hole in the ceiling, unconscious.

And the next thing that happen, little Ichigo charged at Ichigo with full power. The next energy orb had been found.


	9. Chapter 9: Battle on the Great Wall pt 1

It's now been about an hour since the fight between the two Ichigo's. Half the room was in pieces from their fierce attacks. No Captain there had ever witnessed a battle like this before. Many believed they were dreaming, but this battle was real.

Ichigo, although slightly winning, was having a considerably hard time against his younger self. And he knew that something wasn't exactly right. It wasn't that he couldn't defeat his younger self, but the power and techniques younger Ichigo was using was not something regular Ichigo know he could do. 5 years ago, Ichigo had witnessed for the first time, Captain Commander Yamamoto's real strength.

And here his younger 4 year old self was not only using perfect martial arts, but also the Ikkotsu (Bone Arm) technique that the Head Captain used against Wonderweiss. Now Ichigo knew that he had seen the technique several times before, but he began questioning why his four year old self could use it.

It was only now a matter of time before Sokotsu (Dual Bone Arm) would come out. And the more Ichigo would strike down his younger self, the more he began to understand what was going on. He needed to wait for Sokotsu to confirm his suspicions.

Head Captain Yaozu, however, was not happy one bit. Not only Ichigo had broken royal law, but he also was making a mess in his meeting hall. And right when both Ichigo's were about to strike once more, he stepped in knocking both of them to the floor in an instant. But little Ichigo wasn't down without a fight; he immediately went in on attack against the Head-Captain. But unfortunately, Yaozu had used three kido spells on the child to restrain him. The child could no longer move. However, Ichigo wasn't down either, and he had lost all of his manors the moment he landed a direct hit against Yaozu.

And at that point in time directly after the attack, every other Captain sprang in and placed his/her blade pointed somewhere near Ichigo's body. Even the fallen Jian who woke up in the hour of fighting, placed his blade by Ichigo's neck.

Yaozu rises from the ground with a blank stare at Ichigo. Ichigo wasn't happy either. He was on a mission, and he was wasting time. Aizen could reappear at any second, and now here he was fighting with the Chinese Gotei. It wasn't on his agenda.

"You poor soul. Fighting a battle that has no outcome. The power that boy possesses could help us win against the hollows that we've been wanting to defeat for so long. And you're prolonging the inevitable, you will be executed today. And there is nothing you can do about it." Yaozu said lecturing at Ichigo. And Ichigo wasn't having it.

"A battle with no outcome?" Ichigo says quietly. "You have no idea what the hell I'm going through right now." Ichigo looks towards the man with a glare. "I'm warning you now. I don't care about the god-damn laws. My family, friends, and allies are way more important to me right now. There is a man out there with a power so great that he can kill anyone at anytime with his mere finger tip. And I know for a fact that I'm the only one who can stop him." Ichigo yells at the Commander. Yaozu shakes his head and only looks down on Ichigo.

"You need help. This energy orb crisis around the world of the living is not your concern. It is ours. And even if you get all of your powers back, then what? Defeat that oh so powerful man. Your story, while entertaining, is hardly believable."

"You don't get it!" Ichigo screams forcibly knocking a few captains down, only to be forced down to the floor. "I'm the only one who can beat that man. And if you really want to take my younger side on, be my guest. I finally know what's going on." Ichigo looks to the struggling boy in the kido spells.

"My powers had been separated from my body. And each contains a different entity. But now, each orb has risen to the maximum output. That Ikkotsu technique is not mine. It is merely something I saw from somebody else. And yet my smaller form could use it. Each energy orb can one: not be controlled or master by someone other than myself. Two: each orb has awakened to the 100 percentile of my abilities. Meaning…" And just as Ichigo was going to finish, the smaller form breaks out of the three kido with force and strength alone.

Yaozu draws his sword once more and every Captain joins him in ready to battle the smaller Ichigo. Selina, however, had accompanied Ichigo to help him off the ground. "They may be against you. But I'm not." She says looking at him.

"Thanks I really appreaciate it." And with that said, each Captain including the Commander had been blasted in multiple directions. And then finally the boy had begun squatting slightly with his arms parallel to each other. And Ichigo recognized the stance instantly. The Captains had begun to get up to attack again.

"Everyone get down now!" Ichigo screamed, stopping all the Captains in their spots. "You won't survive this attack!"

And in that moment, smaller Ichigo had charged at Ichigo, and at striking distance he extended both arms. Ichigo just barely avoided it while taking Selina down with him.

When Ichigo looked back, the boy was still standing with his fists straight out, but that's what didn't scare Ichigo. It was the fact that the mere space in front of the boy had begun breaking in visible blue lighted cracks. And within seconds, the dimension had been shattered. Ichigo could now see the Great Wall of China on the other side of the freely broken dimensional portal. The boy had basically broken straight through the Dangai (The Precipice World) and opened up a portal to the living world instantly. The boy turns to look at Ichigo with lifeless eyes and then jumps into the portal to the living world.

"What happened?" Selina asked with everyone else in pure shock.

"That is what happens when my legendary power is maxed out. Using the Sokotsu technique, instead of destroying a mere object, it broke the dimensional space between here and the living world. And you said it is not worth me fighting to fix this problem." He says motioning towards Commander Yaozu. Ichigo then jumps through the portal quickly and it closes instantly.

The Commander and the Captains are left speechless while Ichigo now faces his younger self on the highest point on the Great Wall of China. It was a clear sky before the two got there and the moment they both appeared before each other, a heavy twirling lightening storm appeared above their heads.

And when the first lightning strike had shot down from the sky, they both darted at each other ready to fight.


	10. Chapter 10: Battle on the Great Wall pt2

Both Ichigo and his miniature self had begun fighting on the Great Wall. It was pouring, and in like some type of action movie, every collision of strikes resonated in the same frequency as the lightning bolts over head.

But unfortunately for Ichigo, his smaller counterpart was winning. Half the time, Ichigo thought he was going to lose balance and fall off the Great Wall. If he had more space, he would be attacking harder. But now, Ichigo had to become serious. The first energy orb was given straight to him by Zangetsu. He wasn't about to give up just because he was powerless. That wasn't him. He would keep fighting until he would win, with or without his powers.

And within the next few strikes of fist, Ichigo had begun to overpower his smaller self. But it wasn't quite over as the smaller Ichigo had performed a flash step. But that wasn't what bothered Ichigo. It was the fact that he disappeared in one of the over head lightning bolts. In fact, the flash step was as fast as a lightning bolt. Ichigo turns to see his counterpart behind him. He smiles and gets back into a fighting stance. 'Oh I can't wait to learn how to use that. It would put Yoruichi's Goddess title to shame.' He thought with a slight laugh. But then Ichigo realized something. The moment he had turned around, he saw many observes floating in the air watching the two, and with the flash of a nearby lightning bolt, it revealed who these observers were. The Chinese Espada.

Even though Ichigo knew they would be troublesome, however, he had realized in the past few days that there power was much weaker than he had expected. Both Hollows and Soul Reapers in China seemed weaker than the Japanese. But even though, this is just a theory.

And unfortunately, because Ichigo was paying attention to the Espada, he failed to notice that his smaller counterpart had begun his attack again. And Ichigo was hit hard in the chest. He was sent back several feet and ended up over the wall's edge. But just before he would fall to his doom, he caught the edge with his bare hand. 'Damn this isn't good.' He begins to struggle to lift himself over the edge and he could hear some of the hollows laughing.

"He truly is a weakling." One of the Espada says. And immediately Ichigo recognizes the voice. It was the arrancar he first faced in the street when Selina stepped in to take both of them out. But as of on the cue, a senkaimon had opened and all of the Captain level soul reapers had stepped out. It was now not only a showdown between Ichigo and his test against the first energy orb, but now a fight against both Captain and Espada. This was definitely not good. And after a small moment, Ichigo lifted himself from edge. 'If I didn't use all of that reiatsu when I was flying, I might have had a better chance.'

"Well look what we have got here." One of the Espada began, if Ichigo could guess, he was the leader. "All of the Captains assembled to this specific location. What a treat, we get to kill all of you."

"Save the small talk later Xiaoshang." Commander Yaozu said angering the Primera Espada. "We have been battling for years; I think I know what we both want. The power of the energy orb that can determine the outcome of this war between us."

"Ha." Xiaoshang laughed. "Wise as ever you stubborn fool. But we have a new ally on our side as well." A hollow had stepped forth. His mask fragments covered his whole face. He had black eyes with yellow pupils and a head of orange hair.

Ichigo's eyes widen. 'It can't be. Then my statement was wrong. Each energy orb must hold one of my powers from both sides. One Soul Reaper power and one Hollow power.'

"For you see Yaozu, this Hollows had randomly appeared right after that event that took place a week ago. His stamina is great, but his true power is much scarier."

"Oh and what might that be?" Ichigo called from the ground. Smaller Ichigo was paused in motion. He refrained to move and continuously stared at the hollow up in the sky.

"Ha. Looks like we have another person after the energy orbs as well, I've heard about you from my 8th Espada. Says you are a legendary being with extraordinary powers. But never mind that, it's hardly believable anyway. I'll just have my new ally to deal with you. Go and take care of him now." Xiaoshang ordered, but Ichigo's other counterpart refrained to move. Xiaoshang looked at Ichigo's counterpart with disgust. "I told you to go now." He tried grabbing Hollow Ichigo but was immediately stopped by Hollow Ichigo's hand. Xiaoshang was becoming angrier by the second but eventually, Hollow Ichigo flew down and landed behind Ichigo. Now Ichigo was outmatched. Both powers of the energy orb had surrounded him. Little Ichigo faced him, while Hollow Ichigo stood behind him. "Oh great just what I need." He states.

It was then that Xiaoshang had noticed the one similarity between the three. They all had orange hair. "Yaozu, what is the meaning of this!" He yells pointing towards the three Ichigo's on the Great Wall.

"Well you said it yourself. He is a legendary being of immeasurable power; even now I still can't believe it. But at the sight of your new ally, my suspicions became true." Yaozu began, watching Ichgio now fighting against his two counterparts.

"His name is Ichigo Kurosaki. He is from Japan and he says that is legendary powers were forcibly taken from his body and separated across the world. And that's what the energy orb is. Apparently this energy orb manifested itself into two separate beings in the forms of tow individual powers. The small child contains his power and strength…."

"…while his hollow contains high-regeneration." Xiaoshang finished.

"I may not like you Xiaoshang, but he is an enemy to both of us and does not belong here in the Chinese district. Would you agree?" Xiaoshang hated the thought of agreeing with Yaozu, but he was right. And Ichigo had to be taken care of.

"Espada!"

"Captains!"

"Attack Ichigo Kurosaki now!" The two leaders said in unison. Both the Captains and Espada, despite their differences, had attacked Ichigo. Ichigo however wasn't ready. Was right in between his counterparts in a heated battle on the Great Wall, and now he was going to be attacked from the sky. There was nothing he could do. He defended himself from another attack little Ichigo only to be hit by his Hollow. _'What can I do?' _But it was then, he remembered something. A very important lesson he had been taught by his zanpakuto.

'_Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate__' _Zangetsu's words had resonated in his head. And at that moment, time had stood still. Ichigo had closed his eyes and relaxed his body. He remembered the first time when he fought Aizen. He could feel his sword and understand his surrounding without movement. And that's what Ichigo could feel now. Every sword strike, punch, kick or any attack, he could feel them all. And Ichigo knew how to defeat them all. 'No more hesitation, only forward.'

Ichigo opened up his eyes and in a single instant; he had defeated each opponent with a single attack. One punch straight up into the air with the remaining reiatsu he had left, blown away everyone that had surrounded him, and the thunderstorm had ceased.

Ichigo then looked up to realize that his two counterparts had stopped fighting and were smiling at him with lifeless eyes. After moments, the two counterparts had glowed bright blue and merged together in a mass of spiraling energy. Ichigo then proceeded to move forward to obtain his powers, but Selina got in his way after recovering quickly from the attack. Her head was down low and she kept shaking her head.

"Selina?" Ichigo asked as he was right in front of her.

"You're a good person Ichigo, but if you leave, I'm afraid I might never see you again. I don't want to lose our friendship." She had then looked up to look at him, pain written all over her face.

"I'm sorry Selina." He says as he walked past her and approached the energy orb. "But I have a mission. An important one to complete, I promise I'll return to visit one day." And with that said he touched the orb, a surge of spiritual power had exploded right after.

When the smoke cleared, Ichigo stood there with spiraling energy around him. And as soon as the energy had died down he turned to face her. And when she looked in his eyes, all she saw was pure power.

The Captains and Espada had then come back to attack Ichigo again. He refused to move and let the attacks hit him. He had been cut up left and right. His right arm was chopped off and he could no longer see out of his left eye. The group retreats to see if Ichigo would fall, but instead the unexpected happen. Ichigo's newly found high-speed regeneration abilities had kicked in. His arm grew back instantly along with his eye and all the other wounds healed. But when the arm grew back, it just wasn't some carbon copy. It was a real thing, bone, muscles and skin. Everything he had lost grew back to the way it was. This was his high-speed regeneration abilities at 100 percent.

Ichigo then question what would happen if his head would be cut off, but that was for another day.

Seconds later, Zangetsu had appeared. The Captains and Espada was surprised none the less.

"Good, you have found the next orb. Your journey is still far ahead of you." Ichigo nodded in the sight of his zanpakuto. He was happy, but even though he found the second orb, he knew it would get harder from here on out.


	11. Chapter 11: Off to Russia

The battle in China was far from over. Although Ichigo had successfully obtained more of his power, he had now must escape the wrath of the Chinese Captains and Espada. In his weaken state he figured he might be able to escape, but the chances as of right now were low. He takes one more look on his surrounding enemies and then returns his gaze back to his zanpakuto.

"Ichigo..." His zanpakuto speaks. "... your journey has only begun. And I'm afraid that the enemies you will find will be much more difficult. Be careful and tread caution." Ichigo nods slightly.

"I already know that Zangetsu. Buy why go through the trouble of appearing before me? As far as I'm concern, I trust you with everything I have. And in retrospect, you have the same amount of trust for me. I will get you back. I just don't understand the purpose of showing yourself."

Zangetsu pauses, but time was running out. He was beginning to fade away again. His time was almost up. "Listen to me Ichigo!" He said quickly. "There is a hidden power that I have locked away for millenniums. And if I don't give you clues to find the secrets of that power and what its potential is, you will never be able to defeat Aizen." Zangetsu had slowly dispersed, and with one last word. "I've been too scared to reveal this power to anyone. You've done everything I could have wanted. You deserve that power more than any person I've met."

And with that last note, Zangetsu was gone. And Ichigo was left standing there with even more confusion. His zanpakuto had been hiding something from everyone for thousands of years. But the real question was why he was so willing to let Ichgio have it.

But unfortunately, this little vision did not stop the Captain's nor Espada from wanting to attack Ichigo. All of them had charged. And even though he had his strength and healing abilities back, this was too many people to fight at once.

And just as Ichigo was to be struck, down a loud voice erupted from a far distant part of the wall.

"_Shoot to Kill…_Shinso."

And with that, a large blade extended knocking out a few opponents. Ichigo grabs the blade and lets it ability to retract back towards the location it was shot from. And after escaping a far distance, sure enough Gin Ichimaru stood. Ichigo lets go of the blade and drops onto the wall, landing in front of Gin.

"My, my look what I happen to catch." He says with a laugh. Ichigo could only stare wide eyed at another enemy of his past but he ignores it as Gin motioned Ichigo to follow him away from the Chinese spiritual beings. The two travels a great distance spending a total of six hours to get to a new destination. And it happened to be a small house just outside of an unknown city. But what Ichigo did know is that he must have traveled far north as there was much snow on the ground.

Gin opens the door and lets Ichigo inside. Ichigo cautiously enters the small house making sure his eyes were on Gin's every movement.

"So tell me…" Gin states, sitting on a couch. "…what brings the famous Ichigo Kurosaki to China and now Russia?"

"Russia? So this is where you have been hiding. Actually I should thank you; this was going to be my next location. I'm trying to look for a vacation spot." Ichigo states trying to avoid any more questions from the traitorous Soul Reaper.

Gin only smiles waving a finger at him. "Now, now…" He pauses opening both eyes at him making a serious face. "…I know that you're here for your powers. That light show was quite a worldwide event. Although facing your opponent won't be an easy task. That damn form of yours took me out with one hit."

Ichigo eyes widen. "Wait, you know about the form that is here in Russia?"

"Sure do. He sided with the Soul Reapers here in Russia. I don't know what exactly what it was, but from what it looked like, it was a Kido spell. And he used it without an incantation or number registration."

"What do you mean number registration?" Ichigo asks trying to get as much information as possible.

"Most kido spells have a number to identify the power level. And to use a spell at full power, you must have both the incantation and number registration. But many have learned how to bypass the inaction and straight to number registration. But usually without the incantation, the spell is less powerful. And it would be even more less powerfully without the number registration."

"I brought you here, so you can help me get rid of that devil of a monster out of here so I can single handily overthrow the Russian Soul Reapers. So I could lead them. Being an outcast is no easy thing you know. And I bet you have realized by now, that both Soul Reapers and Hollows are much weaker outside the Japanese district."

"And what makes you think I will help you defeat the Russian Soul Reapers?" Ichigo responds somewhat annoyed.

"Well one you do need your power back and two you will not only have your counterpart as an enemy, but me as well." Gin restates closing his eyes.

Ichigo sighs already knowing, that he would have no choice. Damn this was going to be bad. "I regret for asking, but how powerful is this guy?"

"Your counterpart? Well…"

Off in the distance, an army of Hollows and Soul Reapers were fighting. And only few Soul Reapers remained.

"Strawberry-Head! We need your special power right now." A Russian Soul Reaper yells.

The Ichigo form makes a stance with his left arm extended. His right arm gripped his left bicep. And within a short time period without saying anywords, a giant form of blue lightning shoots from his hand at the Hollow army. Not only, it destroys the army of Hollows, but it also destroys a big part of the landscape.

This kido was a level 88 destructive spell. None other than: _Flying Dragon Strike, Heaven-Shaking Lightning Cannon._

**(A.N. For a side note, I apologize for the delay. I wanted a short break, and now I'm back. Updates will appear quickly once again. And yes, that kido spell is my favorite one. Japanese: **_**Hiryu Gekizoku Shintenraiho!**_**)**


	12. Chapter 12: Off to Russia part 2

It has now been at least 5 weeks and 22hrs since Ichigo had ran away from home. His first stop was in China where for a brief 24 hours, he had been able to recover two powers back: high-speed regeneration and enhanced strength. But unfortunately, he had made many enemies in China. Both the Chinese Soul Reaper and Espada, already hate him. And the only friend he made was the 5th Squad Captain Selina. He could only hope that she would be okay.

Now he was in Russia. He is taking refuge in a traitor's home and even though Ichigo was being treated well, with clothes, food, and a bed, he could still not sleep. It was four in the morning and Gin wanted to take Ichigo on a tour around the area by noon. 'Might as well get some sleep.' Ichigo thought as his eyes were slowly closing.

The next thing Ichigo new, he had woken up in the same sanctuary where he had pulled Zangetsu out of the pedestal. But this time, it had a large gate blocking off the entrance and he couldn't get inside. However, he did notice that the gate had many different gems on the top of it. At first he thought it was a part of the decoration, but two were glowing. And then suddenly, a voice rang through the hall. "Ichigo?"

Ichigo turns back to the gate, and on the other side stood Zangetsu. Both stared at each other for several minutes until Ichigo broke the silence. "Zangetsu… where am I?"

"I should ask the same Ichigo." Zangetsu pauses and approaches the gate. "I'm not sure how you got here, but I might as well tell you what's going on."

Ichigo nods and approaches the gate as well. He extends his arm out to reach for the gate but is blasted away on the moment of contact. "Ichigo!"

Ichigo wobbles as he gets up. "What…*pant*…What the hell was that?"

"It is a seal to keep me in here. But I never would have expected it to hurt people outside it." Zangetsu paused as Ichigo walks to the gate once more and then sits down. Zangetus then sits as well.

"Zangetsu, I can't have you keep me guessing every time I get an orb back. What is this power your hiding? What is this place and why am I here?" Ichigo begins to barrage his zanpakuto with so many questions and finally Zangetsu speaks.

"I don't know how long you can stay here or why you have come. But I do know that I need to tell you as much as I can now before you disappear. That way I would not need to show myself after each orb you receive."

Ichigo nods and takes another look around the area and it reminded him much of like his inner world. It seemed he could only come here when he slept or meditated.

"Ichigo. This place is my innerworld." Zangetsu states which sends Ichigo's mind on the fritz and raises so many more questions. "But then how…"

"No more questions until I'm done. I'll explain everything." His voice rang through the hall. Every time one of them would speak, their voices would echo.

"Ichigo. I am a very powerful, very ancient spiritual being. I know vast knowledge and to tell you it all may take several days. So be prepared."

"I'm ready to know everything, I cannot let Aizen live for any more seconds. He could return at any time, and I know his first target will be my family and friends. So let's begin this."

"Very well. I'll start by telling you of the time when I lived. Hollows ruled the world back then. Every spirit who had died in the world of the living usually became Hollows. Very few were powerful enough not to Hollowfi or be eaten. Hollows follow the basic rule of: survival of the fittest. Using years of experience, and today's knowledge, I've come to the assumption that the Hollows actions highly resemble those of the common animals, which makes me believe that somewhere before my existence, there was something that sparked the Hollows nature.

But that is for another time. But what is important is how that I and twelve others all died at the same time at the same moment around the living world. Each of us all died in separate ways and each had a meaning for our deaths."

Ichigo nods and continues to pay very close attention.

"I died with people around me. The others died from fire, ice, poison, lightning, illusion, water, light and darkness. I have left a few out but it generally gives the point. And if you noticed, these are the natural elements each zanpakto uses."

And with that note, Ichigo begun thinking of every release zanpakuto he has seen. And no matter what he thought of, it always resulted in one of those categories.

"Now with that said, I will explain why. Each of the 13 of us, who had died that day all went our separate paths. But the odd thing is; we all ended up meeting a certain man who helped push us in a direction. His name, Tite Kubo. I don't remember who he was or where he came from, but he did help all 13 of us in a different way. Six of us went to the Hollows side to help them while another six aided the small revolutionary army that would later become soul reapers. I was the only one who remained out of the fighting. And through those years, I've seen the Revolutionary Army become on equal terms with the hollows. It had now become a stalemate."

"But that same man, who helped the 13 of us also, told us a secret. A secret to the path that could potentially end that war between the Hollows and Revolutionary Army.

But the problem was the fact that it was six on six between the thirteen of us. And I ended up being the deciding factor. The secret was to manifest the way we died and turn them into powers that were much stronger than both the Hollows and Soul Reapers. And this would later become the basis for the zanpakuto.

But I could not see to this. I refused to be the deciding factor. But now I see that many things in the past could have been prevented."

"But how did you become swords?" Ichigo asked.

"When we manifested our powers from our deaths, we put them into objects that we most liked. It could have been a ring, comb, anything that most resembled themselves. But mine was a sword. And in order to stop this tide from happening. To stop my twelve counterparts, I used my own powers to seal all of us into this world. My inner world, this sanctuary in my original sword. And in here, there was a long fierce battle between us. And using the remaining of my powers, I sealed off everything, and placed them in the pedestal in the center of this world."

"Alright but that doesn't explain anything. The war is still going on between Hollows and Soul Reapers. And yet you are still stuck here. What happen after that?"

"After that, Tite Kubo took that sword with all of us in it, and created a legendary attack that ended the first war. But like you know well, any legendary attack must have a sacrifice. So he sacrificed a large portion of his life and that legendary sword that held all thirteen of us in it. And it caused all of us to separate into the thirteen new swords that we are now. Unfortunately, that man disappeared and these swords separated back to the both sides they originally fought for. The six vs. six with me left out."

"So after Tite Kubo ended the first war, he disappeared without a trace leaving the thirteen swords that would continue the war between the Hollows and Soul Reapers." Ichigo stated trying his best to understand

"Correct. And I took refuge in the world of the living. And through time, the thirteen of us had gathered followers to help the side they were on. These followers would later become the Zanpakuto."

"But how? It doesn't make sense. How can you have a follower if you're sealed inside a sword?" Ichigo asked confused again.

"Like I said Ichigo, I did not want to be that final decision. Those who saw me on either side decided to follow in my footsteps and never fought in the war again. People who saw the fire being, they followed him in his footsteps and became fire beings themselves. And so on and so forth, water to water, ice to ice, lightning to lightning."

"Eventually those who followed us found new ways of accessing that power instead of sealing themselves off into swords. They would later use their own energy to form their own sword with a spirit inside it. And depending who that person followed, their sword would be that attribute."

"Then tell me Zangetsu…"

"That's not my real name Ichigo. My real name is based off my true power."

"Then what is your true power?" Ichigo asked with more anticipation then ever.

"Unity. (Kenpei)"

"Unity?" Ichigo asks.

"Yes. Unity is the power to work with everything you're ever given. Doesn't matter what side you are, or what powers you have. You use everything you got and don't hold back. Not only you have allies in both Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society, but you have powers of both Hollows and Soul Reapers. Your true power is unity. Utilizing both to take out your opponent. And after what I've seen, I can truly trust you with the ultimate power I have locked away."

Ichigo stands with a determined face and Zangetsu follows his lead. "So tell what I have to do?"

"First, find the rest of your powers. And that will unlock this gate." Zangetsu states pointing to the glowing gems. "When your powers separated, I placed as much of my energy into them so they could evolve to their maximum potential. The reason why this gate is locked is because as strong as you were before, there was no possible way for you handling that power by yourself. But now when you get all your powers back, the gate will open, and only then I could reveal my true form."

Ichigo nods. "So looks like I got some work to do."

"Yes you do."

And with those words, Ichigo had woken back up. It was now an hour past noon and he hears Gin yelling at him saying that he has no sense of scheduling. He smiles. 'Zangetsu, I'll make you proud.'


	13. Chapter 13: Off to Russia part 3

It has now been several hours since Ichigo woke up from his dream with Zangetsu. Gin was not too happy about it and told Ichigo if he was not up by 1pm he would leave into the city without him. Fortunately for Ichigo, he was already to go. After all, he didn't take any change of clothes with him. So what he had one was the best he could do. He hears Gin yelling for him once more saying it was 15 minutes until one. Ichigo sighs lightly and finally decides to get up.

An hour later, Ichigo and Gin start visiting many tourist attractions around Russia. While this is happening, Gin begins to explain things about the Russian Soul Reapers. As it turns out, the Russian Seireitei is not as big as the Japanese one. So many times, the Russian Soul Reapers would have their meetings at night in the many tourist spots around Russia. So in any case, the Russian Soul Reapers tend to watch over the living world more frequently.

"So whats the problem?" Ichigo asks as he observes paintings and other art work in the State Russian Museum. Gin tilts his head slightly downward and begins to think. There was a problem, and it was much more difficult than anything Ichigo had to face up until now.

"The Russian Soul Reapers are strong, but they are not known for their offensive. They are immeasurably amazing in their defenses. The very rare mineral name Seki-Seki is a rock that was used to defend the Seireitei against you and your group of friends." Gin states as he recalls his past adventures trying to break in the Russian Seireitei.

"And?" Ichigo asks not really sure what he was getting at. Gin turns to face him slightly.

"The Russian Seireitei…the whole city itself is made from this mineral." Ichigo's eyes widen. "As it turns out, the Russian area is known for this rock. In fact I've learned that it is the cheapest selling item on the market. They have so much that they sell the stuff at a cheap price."

"Okay, so it will be extremely difficult to penetrate the Seireitei right?" Ichigo asks as he begins to observe another painting.

"Yes. But it's just as hard to get into the Soul Society. Because they have so much of the stuff, even the Dangai here is midway blocked off. The invisible barrier can stretch into other dimensions. That's how well they are protected. So I could open another Senkaimon, but the problem is that barrier is blocking the way. And then the cleaner is another threat. We can't run into that either."

"So you're practically telling me it's hopeless?" Ichigo practically yells. A Russian tour guide quickly runs over and yells at Ichigo to calm down. Gin smiles slightly as the tour guide walked away with a small glare at Ichigo.

"That's not even the half of it." They both leave and head back to Gin's secret home having enough of all the museums.

"The only way I was able to get in to the Soul Society was because I stole a secret key from one of the members. It turns out that the key is simply a switch that shoots an impulse into the barrier. I only have one so I can't get us both in. But that's not important."

"That sounds pretty important to me." Ichigo shrugs.

"But what is important is if you have done your history homework." Gin says with a slight laugh at the sight of Ichigo's confused face.

"What do you…"

"The Captain Commander here in Russia, believe it or not, is a relative to one of Russia's former leaders." Gin states as they made it into his secret house.

"Alright, but even so…" Ichigo begins thinking very carefully for his next choice of words. "…does it really matter? I've learned that Soul Reapers outside Japan are weaker. The only powerful spiritual beings are just my manifested powers. What could be more dangerous?"

"I've learned that too. My own power can match the Commanders in Russia and China. However it is dangerous to fight the Russian Captain Commander. He loves a good battle. Essentially, he is Kenpachi Zaraki in the form of the Russian Captain Commander."

"Oh great. But what is the catch?"

"The Russian Captain Commander's is the brother to Ivan the Terrible." Gin states once more looking towards Ichigo. Ichigo however could not speak. He was in shock. His intention was to learn the secrets of the ultimate spiritual power that resides in Zangetsu. But not only that, Ichigo is now learning secrets that only the Spirit King should know. And by the end of this journey, Ichigo would become a far greater person and would be able to end the battle against Aizen once and for all.

After a couple of minutes Ichigo finally responds. "So what do you suggest we do?"

"First and foremost, you must gain that power of yours again. Otherwise there would be no way of ever escaping Russia. The Russian Soul Reapers already know of your arrival. This will be no easy task." Gin pauses and stands slowly. "Prepare yourself, Kurosaki."

***Sighs* I know. I've been slacking with all of my stories. Just got into college and now I have a job. I can't promise updates as frequently as I had in the past. But I hope to finish this story. And I don't plan on rushing it either. IT IS GUARENTEED THAT I WILL FINISH THIS STORY!**


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